The Secret (and Simple) Trick to Achieving Natural-Looking Curls

I love to wear my hair curly, but I don’t always like for my curls to be perfect spirals (I prefer the messy, natural look of irregular curls and waves). I was being lazy one day and decided to try using my curling iron like a wand. This was a revelation! By wrapping the strands around the barrel, including the clip, I discovered I could create irregular curl-waves. This is because the area of the strand that goes around the clip is heated less, creating more of a wave pattern, while the area that goes around the shaft of my iron is heated more, creating a curl. The result is a curl pattern that is less uniform. Twisting the strands before wrapping them adds to the effect. Best of all, this curling method is super fast. I don’t have particularly thick or coarse hair but it only takes me about 10 to 15 minutes.

Start by sectioning off a one-inch section near your nape, and clip the rest up.

Spray 4 of 11

Take a 1" vertical section from the nape, and spray with hairspray (try not to make this face while doing it).

Twist 5 of 11

Twist the section a couple times. You don't want the twist to be too tight.

Wrap 6 of 11

Wrap the strand around the curling iron away from your face, holding onto the end. Be careful! The iron will be hot. Continue through the entire nape section, wrapping away from your face until you reach the middle. Switch directions to continue wrapping away from your face on the other side.

Work Up 7 of 11

Take another horizontal section down, and continue twisting and wrapping strands in this manner.

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